News

Positrons are the antimatter version of
electrons and so their fate in a matter world is ultimately to annihilate.
However, prior to this, a positron may combine with an electron to form a
matter-antimatter hybrid called positronium. This is akin to a hydrogen atom
with the proton replaced by a positron. Fundamental to our understanding of the
physical universe, positron and positronium are these days also acknowledged as
being fantastically useful in practical applications such as probing material
properties and medical diagnostics. However, there is still much that we do not
know for sure about the details of the interactions of these particles with
ordinary matter. For example if, in a collision with an atom or molecule, a
positron captures an electron, in which directions is the positronium likely to
travel and with what probability? More...

How light of different colours is absorbed by carbon dioxide (CO2) can now be accurately predicted using new calculations developed by a UCL-led team of scientists. This will help climate scientists studying Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions to better interpret data collected from satellites and ground stations measuring CO2. More...

New research from UCL has uncovered additional second laws of thermodynamics which complement the ordinary second law of thermodynamics, one of the most fundamental laws of nature. These new second laws are generally not noticeable except on very small scales, at which point, they become increasingly important. More...